After a great trip last summer to the Isle of Mingulay, south of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, I was keen to get back, this time to the Isle of Pabbay. The islands have been on my radar for a while but the commitment of getting together a group of people, everyone getting out to Barra and then getting on a small boat to drop you off for a week or so with no comms in whatever weather comes off the Atlantic is something I think holds a lot of people back.

This year I was climbing with Malcy after both his partner and mine from last year couldn't make it. Malcy has been going to the islands for over 15 years and knows them well. After a few routes on Banded Wall on the first day we went to check out his 'Crag X', a crag he'd been looking at for years but never gone and played on, just like everyone else.

We rigged a 90m abseil with numerous rebelays to access the promontory and then set about checking out lines, trundling blocks on the looser terrain and trying a few lines. Closer inland the rock seems to have seen less wave washing and has more loose rock on it but where the crags are exposed the rock is great and we got some nice routes in.

With a bit of a stormy forecast for the whole week we'd known from the outset that this trip could be a bit different to last year where we climbed great rock everyday, arrived and departed on the hoped dates and only got rained on when we were in bed. Having arrived on the Sunday night, Malcy and I found ourselves running around the island on Tuesday finding the rest of the team to discuss when we would be departing based on the latest weather and the boat offering a collection that day.

With a forecast from Chucky's InReach suggesting things were only really going to get bad around the weekend everyone agreed to stay on the island and see out a wet Wednesday hoping for a later pick up. Before Wednesday's rain we managed to snatch a handful of nice routes at Evening Wall close to camp.

With an updated forecast on Thursday morning and a a few messages out to the boat enquiring about a pick up, the whole team headed to the Poop Deck and Banded Wall in case we had to leave quickly. Good planning meant when the call came we were back in camp and ready for the boat back to Barra before the stormy weekend and fish super in the pub.

With Sally going through the International Mountain Leader qualification at present one of the stages of the process is to be assessed as a leader in summer in the Alps. So, in July, we booked a few weeks off in the calendar and drove out with the intention of allowing a couple of weeks preparation time and a week for the assessment with Glenmore Lodge.

I'm not currently going through the IML so I was just in the Alps acting as 'support' providing transport, flower documentation skills and most importantly, the need for daily cake stops. With Sally's assessment based in southern Germany on the border with Austria, a veritable cake honeypot site, I knew my role in the team. Basically I'm a big fan of Austro-German cakes and Italian coffee. I was in my element!

Alongside the need to sample all the cake, the IML requires a fair amount of mountain experience, good navigational skills, ropework skills of a slightly higher level than the UK summer Mountain Leader qualification and a hell of a lot of local flora, fauna and historical and cultural knowledge. With this in mind Sally had already been reading up for months before heading out to the Alps, but during our two weeks of alpine preparation time we spent a lot of time looking at amazing flowers and learning about the local culture.

With some inclement weather at various parts of the trip in southern Bavaria we dotted about the Alps occasionally enjoying a few days in Italy, Switzerland and Austria to make the most of the different weather windows. We also managed to throw in a few days rock climbing and a number of fun easy summits; the Grosser Widderstein being a really nice day out alongside the traverse of the Nebelhorn and it's via ferrata.

After all this preparation and a lot of exploring the local area around Oberstdorf, Bavaria, it was fantastic to see Sally come away from assessment having not only passed but seemingly cruised the 5 days. Without any hesitation winter assessment, the final stage of the qualification process, was booked and now we have that to look forward to in January. Nice one Sally!

To celebrate, and with a few spare days before we had to head back, we headed to Switzerland in search of the best weather and landed in Saas Grund psyched to climb a bigger alpine peak. Straight off the lift the next morning we wondered up the South Ridge of the Lagginhorn (4010m), a fantastic airy AD scramble, and with wheezy lungs due to our total lack of acclimatisation descended to normal route to the Weisshorn hutte in time for dinner and a Radler. A great end to the trip!

The last week of June and the first week or so of July have been a great mix of personal climbing time and work on the Skye Cuillin. I had a week hanging out with friends in Torridon climbing some brilliant different rock types and going to the beach in glorious weather.

We used one of the wetter days that week to give Ruari the opportunity to work on preparing for his upcoming MCI assessment in August. This assessment will enable Ruari to guide and instruct in all non-winter climbing and mountaineering terrain, one of the highest awards in the UK Mountain Training scheme. During the day Ruari guided Owen and I up the Cioch Nose and it's continuation whilst we chatted about different ways of doing things and being efficient and safe. Brilliant fun to help out a friend going through the scheme on such a cool and classic route. Good luck in August buddy!

Either side of this I've been working on the Cuillin Ridge. Generally it's been pretty atmospheric weather working for The Highland Mountain Company, Skye Guides and Abacus Mountain Guides.

I had four days with Eunice for Skye Guides climbing some of the classic scrambles and mountains on the ridge. With poor weather on the first day we started off with an ascent of the Cioch via Cioch Gully. On the second day we had some fairly nice weather and smashed the Coire Lagan Round.

Over the four days we worked on building confidence and technical skills. With abseiling being a particular challenge we found various opportunities for some practice including abseiling off the Inaccessible Pinnacle and the abseils on Sgurr nan Gillean.

On our third day we went for an ascent of Sgurr nan Gillean via the uber classic scramble, Pinnacle Ridge, with it's many interesting pinnacles, traverses and exposed sections. Getting to the top of Sgurr nan Gillean via this route is a real must! Especially when complemented with a descent of the West Ridge.

With more poor weather for our final day we opted for one of the classic but shorter sections of the ridge, the traverse of Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh. A brilliant route in almost any condition and one of the most ridgey sections of the traverse with big drops on either side. To top this off we finished the day with an ascent of Sgurr a'Mhadaidh. Well done to Eunice for four excellent days on the ridge!

My last bit of work in July before heading to the Alps for a few weeks was out for Abacus Mountain Guides with Dick. Dick had wanted to go and spend a couple of days on the ridge getting a feel for it and experiencing the best parts, preferably with a bivvy high on the ridge. With trickey weather we opted for a late start and a bivvy near Sgurr Alasdair after visiting the southern end of the ridge.

After a short but sweet night, and Dick's first bivvy, we had an early start and traverse over, Alasdair, Mhic Choinnich, the Pinn, Banachdich and Ghreadaidh. With many of the classic parts of the ridge under Dick's belt at this point and with a full-on experience of the ridge over a couple of fairly intense days we headed down off the ridge. Well done Dick!

With a few great weeks in Scotland over it's now Alps time!

Over the last three years Richard has been coming up to the Isle of Skye to try and climb all of the island's Munros. Each season Richard and I have ascended some of the most challenging peaks on Munro's list and this year he wanted to finish them off.

With tricky route finding, often poor weather and large amounts of technical ground requiring scrambling and occasionally climbing, the Cuillin Munros can be a burden in the backs of many Munro Bagger's minds. Often the easiest choice can be to hire a guide who knows the mountains well and can help deal with the technical difficulties and warren of paths safely and efficiently. This is what Richard was after when he set out to climb them all.

Over the past few days we ticked off Richard's final Cuillin summits with ascents of Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh and Sgurr a'Mhadaidh on Thursday in less than ideal conditions and Sgurr na Banachdich on Friday with the occasional view through the clouds. Well done Sir!

May, June and July over the past four years have always meant Cuillin time for me, and this year is no different. Although the ridge feels like a second home to me in the meantime it's always super inspiring regardless of the weather.

Over the past week or so I've been out with lots of different people tackling various different objectives.

During the week I was out with Ian for Skye Guides showing him all the hardest parts of the ridge, some of the sneaky bypasses for poor conditions and the best line on the ridge in order to attempt a ridge traverse, unguided, next year with his brother. 

On Saturday a big group from Peak Meet-Up were out with Abacus Mountain Guides and we managed to do a couple of laps of the Inaccessible Pinnacle for those who had that in their sights. For those that just came for the walk we were rewarded with the clouds parting whilst we were on Sgurr Dearg and some fantastic views.

Sunday was I was out with Chris and Peter, for Skye Guides again, up on Skye trying to complete their remaining Munros and Tops on the Cuillin Ridge. Thankfully the cloud stayed low whilst we were on the In Pinn so Chris didn't have to deal with the massive exposure of the climb, but whilst we were on Sgurr Mhic Choinnich, the second Munro for the day, we got some brilliant views of the surrounding mountains and further afield. A great outcome.

In between all these bits of work on the ridge, Sally and I managed to snatch a lovely sunny day out climbing perfect gabbro slabs at Ardnamurchan, no midges, just pure fun!

With the weather patterns at the moment seeming to be showers in the mornings followed by a slight lifting of the cloud over the afternoon and into the evening I'll be looking to utilise this so that the next few days out on the Cuillin ridge stay as fun and dry as possible.

Today Sally, Niels and I were on Ben Arthur/The Cobbler with a fun team up from various parts of the UK.

The rare diseases team were up on a work / team building trip for a few days. Originally we had discussed hiking up Ben Nevis but chose to climb The Cobbler instead and were rewarded with good weather, fantastic views and a great day out.

Well Done! Hope you enjoyed a fine pint or two at the Fyne Ales brewery after! 

The last couple of weeks have been a great mix. A great mix of different activities and work, but also a lot of different weather to contend with. Everything from glorious sunshine and warm rock climbing in Glen Etive, through difficult showery spells trying to go cragging, to snow, hail, heavy rain and strong winds on the Cuillin Ridge on Skye and everything in between. Sometimes choosing the right objective for the weather is the most important factor for insuring a good day out.

John from Mountain Expeditions came up to Scotland for a bit so we hooked up to climb for a couple of days. With awkward showery spells we managed to play around at Glen Shian trying some of the harder, sparsely protected lines after fleeing the rain and midges in Glen Nevis. The following day we climbed the Etive Slab classic, The Long Reach. Didn't notice a particularly long reach but there were quite a few long runouts. A fantastic route!

With much of my work on the Isle of Skye again this summer, I've spent many days over the past couple of weeks bagging Cuillin Munros with clients. Numerous ascents of the Inaccessible Pinnacle and the other fantastic peaks, interspersed with the odd day of sea cliff climbing at Elgol. Whilst working for Abacus Mountain Guides, West Coast Mountain Guides and Skye Guides, we managed to avoid much of the bad weather and enjoyed some brilliant days out.

Though much of the past couple of weeks I've been on Skye, I also snuck in an ascent of Tower Ridge and a quick fun afternoon climbing one of Polldubh's classic climbs, Storm, with it's steep, exposed but juggy second pitch being the highlight.

The past week has been a fantastic mix of mountain activities. The high pressure which seems to occur pretty frequently in May these days turned the West Coast of Scotland into an amazing adventure playground. Within one week we were out skiing on the Ben, climbing in Glencoe and on Ben Nevis and throwing in a few classic mountain scrambles to round the week off.

With slightly damper conditions forecast for the coming week I'll be back out on the Isle of Skye working on the Cuillin Ridge with it's fantastic Munros and scrambles, hopefully interspersed with a few days of climbing classic rock routes when the cloud lifts.

From late 2014 until early 2016 I spent 18 months living in Antarctica working as a Field Guide for the British Antarctic Survey, based at Rothera Research Station. It was an intense and incredible experience including 6 months over-wintering with a small team of 18. I saw amazing places, learnt new skills specific to the job and made a lot of new friends. In my second summer season, I was lucky enough to explore the South Eastern corner of the Antarctic Peninsula along the Lassiter Coast bordering the Weddell Sea.

During the 73 days of this project, BAS Geologist Dr Alex Burton-Johnson (pictured above on one of the many first ascents) and I explored an area containing great ranges of mountains which had never before been fully explored collecting data which I understand he is still in the process of analysing. It was an incredible few months and I still feel very fortunate to have had the privilege to take part in this project. Alongside the samples which Alex collected to further understand the process which this area of the peninsula had undergone during its creation, we also found fossils of ferns on one of the sedimentary rock sites we visited. An amazing thing to find in such an extreme landscape.

They say 'all good things come to an end'. After 73 days in one of the most remote places on earth with only one other person, and 18 months living in Antarctica, I was back in the UK after a week of travel and gearing up to do my MIC Training course at Glenmore Lodge. Fast forward through a lot of work and play across the UK and Alps since returning and again I am heading south to Antarctica. But this time it will be a little different!

April 2nd 2015: I, along with 18 others, having feasted as guests aboard the ship the previous night, waved good bye to BAS's Ernest Shackleton as it sailed north leaving us at Rothera to look after the base over the winter. It was an emotional moment; the excitement of winter as a small group, alone and in charge, the excitement of winter trips yet knowing that 'that's it until next year', no more visitors, no more fresh food, no more projects, no more...

This season, as I wait for my flight south to the Falklands, to meet the Ernest Shackleton again and spend a couple of months assisting sea ice projects from this vessel, I feel like things have come full circle. Time to meet, see, learn, explore and be amazed again.